Voting for the Rajya Sabha seats will take place on June 11.
Highlights
- UP, MP, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana to see a contest
- BJP set to increase tally, has had trouble passing legislation
- Voting for Rajya Sabha seats will take place on June 11
It will be smooth sailing for ministers like Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and former union minister P Chidambaram but there's a contest on the cards in at least six states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana.
In Uttar Pradesh, there are 12 candidates for 11 seats with the last minute entry of independent Preeti Mahapatra, who has the backing of the BJP.
Each candidate needs 34 votes to make the cut, making it a fight for Congress' Kapil Sibal, who will need five votes over the Congress' 29. Similarly in Madhya Pradesh, of the three Rajya Sabha seats, two will go to the BJP. For the third seat, advocate Vivek Tankha fielded by the Congress needs one vote while BJP's Vinod Gotia who is standing as an independent needs nine.
"Two years ago, Digvijaya Singh won this election unopposed with the same numbers equation. So what has changed in these two years?" says Vivek Tankha of the Congress, "nothing but an attempt by BJP to indulge in horse-trading and try to break the Congress."
The BJP's response came from Madhya Pradesh spokesperson Hitesh Vajlayee, who said, "I am not able to understand what kind of moral ground the Congress or Vivek Tankha has as they don't even have 58 seats in assembly."
In Uttarakhand, Congress' Pradeep Tamta faces a contest from two independents. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party or BSP could decide the winner in the state along with in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
In Jharkhand the BJP has fielded Mahesh Poddar against the Congress-backed candidate Basant Soren, who needs to secure six more votes to ensure a win.
At the end of the Rajya Sabha contest, the BJP will increase its tally in the Upper House where it has had trouble with legislation. It will still not be the single largest party in the Upper House but will narrow its margin with the Congress.
The support for independents is a sign that the party will make the Congress fight for every seat. Voting for these Rajya Sabha seats will take place on June 11.